Caron Butler scored 19 of his 25 points in the first half for Washington, and Antawn Jamison had 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Howard had 14 points and nine rebounds in the first 8:45 JaVale McGee started at center for Washington, and he picked up two fouls in 2:16. Andray Blatche was the next to try to stop Howard, and he had two fouls in 1:47. By then, Howard had seven points.
Etan Thomas was the third to guard Howard, who scored seven more points as the Magic went on an 11-0 run to take a 25-11 lead. Howard went to the bench moments later, and Washington, which has dropped 11 of its 13 games this season, went on a 19-3 run to cut it to 38-34 early in the second quarter.
Orlando had just three points in the first 6:57 of the second quarter after scoring 38 points in the first quarter
- the most allowed by Washington this season.
The Wizards played their second game under interim coach Ed Tapscott after beating Golden State by 24 points in the first. Tapscott, who replaced Eddie Jordan on Monday, said he'd had time to add a few of his own innovations to the offense. He suggested that Butler and Jamison would play on the same side of the court more often, and also warned that there probably wouldn't be a repeat of Tuesday night's romp.
"That was a one-of-a-kind game," Tapscott said.
After McGee hit a layup to start the quarter to cut Orlando's lead to nine at 55-46, the Magic went on a 16-3 tear to make it 71-49 lead with 6:57 to play.
Rashard Lewis, who gave Orlando a victory Wednesday night in Philadelphia with a late 3-pointer, added 17 points, and Mickael Peitrus also had 17. Anthony Johnson had a season-high 12 assists.
While the Magic had a comfortable Thanksgiving, their coach did not. Stan Van Gundy said that he was feeling sick, and didn't join the team for its pregame holiday meal.
